Leaked report exposes abuse of lottery dollars paid out to minstrel group
Leaked report exposes abuse of lottery dollars paid out to minstrel group
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Minstrels execute in Athlone on two January 2017. Archive Photograph: Ashraf Hendricks
A report by Lawyers Dabishi Nthambeleni into a R27.3-million grant through the Nationwide Lotteries Fee towards the Cape Town Minstrel Carnival Association (CTMCA) for your minstrels museum has located no proof that a museum ever existed.
The investigators observed which the CTMCA didn't use the R5-million allocated to obtain or produce a museum.
They also uncovered that the CTMCA only bought land worth R1.7-million, not R5-million as allotted.
They observed the CTMCA applied cash from the Lottery to invest in workshop machines from amongst its individual directors, Richard “Pot” Stemmet.
A leaked forensic report reveals how countless rand granted on the Cape City Minstrel Carnival Association (CTMCA) with the Countrywide Lotteries Fee (NLC) to setup a museum to celebrate the city’s prosperous minstrel heritage went astray. The museum was never produced.
The details from the abuse of countless rands of Lottery funds to get a museum that by no means was are exposed within an investigative report commissioned because of the NLC in 2021.
The museum grant was Section of over R64-million in Lottery funds allocated towards the CTMCA concerning 2003 and 2017.
The primary A part of the investigation, by legislation firm Dabishi Nthambeleni, was carried out between September 2020 and January 2021 and focused on a R27.3-million grant to your CTMCA in 2014, which integrated funding to the museum. The authorised spending budget to the museum was in excess of R12.eight-million, with R5-million of that allotted for the making to deal with the museum.
Examine the report (PDF, 7MB)
The NLC tasked Dabishi Nthambeleni to research the purchase of a setting up for that museum and if the museum “truly existed”.
The company was also instructed to analyze
the purchase with Lottery funds of two cars – a 60-seater bus in addition to a 23-seater bus – for R2.4-million; and
various devices “purchased for that producing in the costumes and hats” with the minstrels carnival, for R5.4-million.
At time, convicted felony Richard “Pot” Stemmet was director of the CTMCA. He was appointed a director from the CTMCA in September 1996. He resigned in December 2016 but his wife Zainonesa and daughter Raziah continued as two of many administrators of your organisation. Stemmet was reappointed as a director in Might 2021.
The investigation followed substantial reporting by GroundUp about the millions of rands of Lottery funding allotted to your CTMCA (see below, listed here and right here) and the way the resources possibly helped finance the ANC’s 2014 election marketing campaign inside the Western Cape, led by at some time by Marius Fransman.
The constructing on the proper was the intended website with the minstrels’ museum, in the middle of an industrial location in Primrose Park, Cape City. Image: Raymond Joseph
In response to some Parliamentary problem, previous NLC Commissioner Thabang Mampane listed grants to three CTMCA “tasks” - including the museum - amongst 2012 and 2015. All 3 initiatives were concluded, she instructed MPs.
Though the investigators found no evidence that a museum experienced ever existed.
Initially the museum was as a result of open in rented premises in Crete Street, Wetton. A photo attained by GroundUp with the supposed Wetton museum shows a espresso store with some musical devices and minstrel costumes and collages of images haphazardly hung around the partitions, along with a product ship on its plinth within a corner.
In its report, Dabishi Nthambeleni reported it was “not able” to substantiate if a museum had ever operated from these premises.
Stemmet instructed the investigators the museum were moved simply because they could no more afford to pay for the rent of R100,000 a month. He stated the CTMCA had obtained house for R1.7-million in Schaapkraal to the museum, but could not get it rezoned, and had been sold for a similar rate. Schaapkraal is inside of a peri-city place significantly from the city.
Because of this, the museum were moved to a completely new site in Primrose Park in February 2021, Stemmet advised the Dabishi Nthambeleni investigators. But right after going to the premises, which are in an industrial area, the investigators explained they doubted regardless of whether an appropriate museum existed there. Pictures connected into the report present a mishmash of randomly shown uniforms, musical devices and various minstrel paraphernalia nailed to the wall, displayed on tables and spread out on the floor, without any clarification.
“There exists a small degree of merchandise within the museum [that] on no account stand for the much more than a hundred-yr background of the Cape City Carnival, the investigators mentioned, adding that there was “no signage outside the house the premises indicating that they housed a museum and … generally, the museum won't search to generally be open to the general public.”
The CTMCA experienced breached the grant agreement, Dabishi Nthambeleni famous, by going the location of the museum to an alternate spot without notifying the NLC.
The Schaapkraal property, on which no museum was at any time created. Photograph: Raymond Joseph
Buses
Stemmet advised the investigators which the CTMCA had to maneuver through the rented Crete Highway premises because it had operate up a R4-million debt with the City of Cape Town and was frightened its machines would be hooked up.
“Due to authorized battles plus the debts, the organisation experienced to maneuver its house from 5 Crete Highway to stay away from the sheriff from attaching the home of your organisation,” Stemmet advised the investigators.
Sedrick Soeker, The existing director on the CTMCA, told them that the two buses purchased with lottery resources had been stored in a very magic formula spot “concealed from the Sheriff”. Even so the investigators claimed they were being not able to substantiate that any buses experienced at any time been purchased.
Stemmet also confirmed that the buses had been concealed to halt them staying seized. But if the investigators requested for being taken for the spot exactly where the buses were saved, he advised them that “the owner of The trick spot was not available to open up the premises for us”.
“The CTMCA could not deliver proof of payment for 2 autos that it allegedly purchased with grant dollars,” the investigators noted.
Soeker also instructed them the Schaapkraal property had been marketed due to financial debt.
“Mr Soeker spelled out that In accordance with his being familiar with, as a result of credit card debt owed to the town of Cape Town, the CTMCA made the decision It could be finest to offer their [Schaapkraal] residence … and also to also to hide the assets of the CTMCA to steer clear of the sheriff from attaching the residence.”
JP Smith, Cape Town’s mayco member for safety and stability, has Formerly informed GroundUp which the CTMCA “threw income away” on litigation with the town.
“Yearly like clockwork, as we approach the tip of the 12 months, the CTMCA picks a lawful battle with the town, over permits or something else. We hardly ever initiate it. They preserve throwing dollars absent on vexatious litigation that they drop and also have prices awarded towards them. That is fully self-inflicted,” he reported.
Soeker told the Dabishi Nthambeleni investigators that the primary function players on problems with Lottery funding were being Stemmet and previous CTMCA board member Kevin Momberg, “who have been accountable for every one of the admin, finances and running ผล หวย the CTMCA.” The investigators claimed they had been struggling to Get hold of Momberg.
Hats
In the course of their “investigation in loco” at the Primrose Park premises, the investigators “observed many devices, some in good issue, some in bad issue plus some that looked rusty and extremely previous”. Stemmet instructed the investigators that there was also an off-web page storage facility exactly where “instruments and a few machinery” had been stored.
“We asked him to consider us to the facility but he was evasive to our ask for.”
Based on photos and invoices in GroundUp’s possession, some, Otherwise all, with the objects appear to be equipment which was illegally removed from the CTMCA’s previous premises. Stemmet is experiencing expenses for this removing.
Based on the final development report submitted towards the NLC via the CTMCA, the machinery was ordered from Martin-Conne Milliners, an organization wherein Stemmet, his wife and his daughter had been administrators at some time.
The investigators discovered this “alarming”.
“Through the CIPC research of Martin-Conne Milliners and the invoices submitted, we Be aware the next alarming obtaining: Mr Stemmet himself is often a director of Martin-Conne Milliners. The registered tackle of the corporate is five Crete Street, Wetton, Cape Town, exactly the same address on which the museum was meant to be designed and/or converted,” they noted.
An audit by accountants Kopano Included, connected for the investigative report, recorded that the CTMCA was in the whole process of getting “machinery, plant and stock” valued at R8.one-million from Stalph 164 CC, buying and selling as Martin-Conne Milliners. Staph 164 was a detailed corporation of which Stemmet was amongst the directors.
In keeping with Dabishi Nthambeleni, the business has compensated R1.two-million as being a deposit, indicating R6.nine-million is still owed, however there is no payment date set for when this has to be paid out.
The Kopano audit along with the near backlink involving the businesses “point out to us that there's ‘foul Engage in’ associated with the purchase from the equipment with the museum workshop”, the investigators claimed while in the report.
“We find that it's hugely probable that CTMCA made use of the funding on the NLC to ‘refund’ among its most important directors with the house at a higher overpriced fee than the particular value and price of the property and/or machinery.”
Suggestions
Dabishi Nthambeleni concluded that it absolutely was not able to establish how the grant on the CTMCA were used.
“In fact, a detailed report on how the funding in the NLC was applied, could well be not possible because the CTMCA does not have any receipts, or proof of payments to substantiate the quantities put in on Just about every merchandise it requested funding for. The interim report and final report of your CTMCA only connect invoices,” Dabishi Nthambeleni concluded.
The investigators located that the NLC experienced not carried out a web site visit right before approving the grant. But this was not standard exercise at the time plus they discovered no evidence of carelessness by NLC workers.
At enough time, the NLC’s guidelines did not have to have funded organisations to post proof of payment with interim reviews, they pointed out. This meant the CTMCA was ready to get a second tranche of funding without needing to supply proof that it had employed the 1st tranche for its meant reason.
Pursuing the appointment of a different board, commissioner and senior govt crew, the NLC has tightened up on these together with other difficulties.
Dabishi Nthambeleni advisable that
the NLC decline any future funding apps from your CTMCA;
the CTMCA and any members who ended up associated with the grant be subjected into the NLC’s “delinquency” approach;
the NLC open up a criminal scenario of fraud with SAPS or the Hawks for allegations of fraud; and
the NLC get started the whole process of recovering the misappropriated funds.
But, as an alternative to act on the report’s recommendations, the NLC – below its past administration – selected to suppress it, since it experienced finished Using the earlier studies into corruption it had commissioned.
GroundUp sent questions to Stemmet and Soeker via SMS, and questioned for e mail addresses to ship the inquiries by e-mail too. But no reaction had been received at enough time of publication.
The minstrel “museum” in Crete Road, Wetton. Image: Raymond Joseph